29 months & 9 days after a catastrophic record flood hit Lismore and the long drawn out housing uncertainty for many residents continues

 

ECHO, 5 August 2024:

More voices of Lismore’s right-to-occupy movement have been heard after police failed to enforce another eviction notice distributed last week.

People from the Northern Rivers and beyond have been occupying, or squatting in, some of Lismore’s otherwise empty and shut-up flood impacted houses for an unknown period of time.

Some started to speak out in recent months after receiving threats of eviction from the NSW Reconstruction Authority.

The properties in question had been sold back to the government through the RA’s Resilient Homes Program.

But it quickly emerged that former homeowners were often happy to have people living in their old houses and caring for the properties, as were neighbours....

Last week, some squatters again received eviction notices from the RA and a police visit.

The letters were direct copies of the notices sent in June, including the same issue date of 17 June, House You founder Chels Hood-Withey said.

Lismore-based community group Reclaim Our Recovery issued a statement on Thursday describing police involvement.

‘This morning RA security decided to call police, triggering an attempt at an eviction by officers,’ the statement read.

‘The residents and supporters held their ground for today but police have promised to attend at 9am Friday 2nd to ensure people are out of the house,’ RoR said, referring to 172 Currie St, North Lismore.

‘People who live there, don’t have anywhere else to go, and intend to stay.’

Supporters again rallied around occupiers on Friday, hosting breakfasts at impacted properties.

This time, police didn’t end up coming.....

Mr Presco said, like Mr Ricketts in June, he was desperate to find out what assistance, if any, existed for people to move bought-back houses from Lismore’s floodplain to higher ground.

‘There’s meant to be houses, land packages, released at below market value in the new land release over at Southern Cross University,’ Mr Presco said, referring to an announcement from the RA earlier this year of new house-lots to be ready by 2026 as part of the Resilient Lands Program.

Mr Presco said it seemed the RA had back-tracked on the inclusion of land for floodplain houses in the land release.....

People were sheltering in the old homes at the end of winter, Mr Presco said, and were quite vulnerable.

They worried about police showing up ‘to drag them out,’ he said, ‘before they potentially get bulldozed’.

‘Turning them into social housing or relocating them seems a bit too difficult for a government agency that’s got a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars,’ Mr Presco said.

‘I don’t understand the absurdity of the situation.’

Speaking from another bought-back home, Roisin McSweeney said she and fellow occupiers had expected police to follow up on threatened evictions but were feeling resilient.

‘We’ve got a lot of support and a bit of a reputation for protecting these homes that we believe need to be lived in,’ Ms McSweeney said.

The fate of Banyam Baigham-the Sleeping Lizard (North Lismore Plateau) remains unresolved

 

An artist's impression of the 'Sleeping Lizard' goanna that forms the hills of North Lismore Plateau site.(Facebook: North Lismore Plateau Protection Group) - ABC News, 10 February 2022

ABC Premium News, 16 December 2022:

....Panel chair Paul Mitchell told a determination meeting that virtually every aspect of the $39 million housing proposal needed further work but he had not ruled out future development on the site.....

The development of the site has been discussed for many years, with Aboriginal heritage & biodiversity listed as the greatest concerns.

Developers urged to submit again

Lismore City Council general manager John Walker said there was support for flood-free housing on the plateau.

"It's disappointing because we do need land, but any approval for DA (development application) must be fully compliant," Mr Walker said.

"You can't expect councils & planning authorities to approve matters without the necessary studies & reviews."

A report from the independent flood inquiry recommended urgently moving people out of high-risk areas on flood plains.

Mr Walker has urged the developers to submit a new application.

"We would certainly encourage them to do so, the plateau was a really important part of the future of Lismore. We'd encourage them to work with us to get that development happening," he said.

Consultants speaking on behalf of the developer told the panel they will now consider starting proceedings in the Land & Environment Court.

ABC News-ABC North Coast, 16 December 2022:

Panel chair Paul Mitchell told a determination meeting that virtually every aspect of the $39 million housing proposal needed further work but he had not ruled out future development on the site.

"I'm sure we'll see some residential development on the plateau," he said.

"The issues are not insurmountable, but this development application wasn't complete in the sense that it didn't answer key questions, such as whether landslip issues could be managed."

Lismore City Council had previously supported development on the plateau but in a submission to the panel recommended the project be refused.

Northern Star, 16 December 2022:

Finding significant and unresolved issues with the development application, the planning panel unanimously voted down the $39 million housing development on Dunoon Rd in North Lismore on Thursday…..

Lismore ratepayer Dot Moller said a new nuanced plan for the development of the North Lismore plateau may be required.

“There is a potential injustice to the population of North Lismore, our community badly affected by the devastating floods this year.

“Many families are still homeless and living in substandard conditions right at the foot of our green plateau.

“Folks have left as they‘ve been unable to find work or repair their homes. Social and affordable housing is desperately needed.

“It is time to think about what we really need – not what a big Sydney development company thinks will work for them.”

Lismore resident Helen Robinson pointed out to the panel some of the land on the proposed estate had been identified as suitable to relocate up to 500 homes off the flood plain in North Lismore by the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation.

“Those homes are suitable to move to the foothills of this estate where the people can maintain their communities,” she said.

“(But) council maintains that it's not in the community’s interest. I wonder which part of the community they’re considering.

“I don’t think they’re considering the people of the flood plain.”

Major concerns that sank the development included, environmental and wildlife impacts from land clearing, bushfire hazards, pollution of drinking water, increased stormwater run-off, noise from traffic and undue pressure on infrastructure.

But the elephant in the room – and the biggest obstacle facing the developers – is the outstanding Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment.

“A significant shortfall with the application is a lack of consolation and documentation in regards to Aboriginal cultural heritage,” the council’s assessment reads.

The plan to build on the Northern Plateau has been banging around for over a decade, with the development hotly debated.

The council’s assessment found the DA as presented was in contravention of Aboriginal heritage conservation.

Known culturally as the ‘Sleeping Lizard’ because of the shape of the land, the site is said to hold significant cultural value to Widjabul Wia-bal traditional owners of the Bundjalung Nation.

Back in 2011, members of the Widjabul Wia-bal community protested after the council voted to allow the development because of the cultural significance of the site.

More than 10 years later, the issue of heritage conservation on the site is yet to be addressed by the prospective developers, the Northern Regional Planning Panel heard.

Tony Hart and Clyde Treadwell, consultants who represented land owners trying to develop the land, acknowledged the issues. They asked for a six-month extension for “specialist consultants” to resolve the problems.

Frustrated panel chair Paul Mitchell said: “The problem with that is that the application shouldn't have been lodged in the first place.”

“Every aspect of this application that needs further work … virtually none of the fundamental issues have been finally resolved.”

Mr Hart and Treadwell told the panel landowners would proceed to take Lismore City Council to the Land and Environment Court for a determination if the extension and DA was refused.

“We do not want to go to court but we will have to if there is no other avenue,” Mr Hart said.

Mr Mitchell said that would be “unfortunate” because it would be “an expensive burden” on Lismore residents.

BACKGROUND

NORTH COAST VOICES, Sunday, 11 December 2022:

Given the NSW Northern Regional Council is in the pocket of the Perrottet Government and that state government has passed law which allows it to facilitate landgrabs by professional property speculators, this matter is not going to end well for Lismore

Sleeping Lizard
IMAGE: displayed on change.org